Ethereal
by monkeydc0cks
Summary: Let's face it, in Earth-16 where nano-tech, aliens, time travel, magic, (demi)gods and all that fun stuff exists; what are the possibility of having a Celestial Being descend? Pretty damn big that's what (even if she said that it was one in a millenia thing). Richard Grayson/(back when he was)Robin x OC.
1. Chapter 1

For the record, I don't own anything but my characters.

* * *

Batman was not one for reminiscing but when he had nothing to do in the cave and it so happened to be one of his ward's birthday in the manor; he couldn't help but think back on how his daughter came to be just that. Fuko Shuhitou was found during an incident involving what was thought an escaped white tiger from the zoo.

It was the first time Robin ever fought against a meta being. The white tiger had been hard to control and every time Batman thought he had the tiger in his grasp, it would just dissipate into the wind and resurface again at a later date. It wreaked havoc in Gotham and caused even the villainous scum to hide away and await the storm to pass.

It was on the seventh day that a child who appeared to be no older than Robin appeared in all her formal regalia. Her hair was white as the moon and eyes as dark as the night sky. Her kimono was graced with Chrysanthemum patterns that shimmered as if stars were sprinkled on it. Batman's first instinct was to swoop in save the girl from harm's way but he noticed the way the tiger hunched its shoulder in an attempt to protect itself. The tiger feared the small girl.

From her obi she took out a fan and walked closer to the tiger. Batman knew that Robin was about to jump in and save the girl so he stopped such a thing from happening. The girl then flicked her fan open and pointed it towards the tiger. She noticed that the girl was speaking in Japanese, the most formal kind and with an authoritative command. Batman knew Japanese well enough to understand what the girl was saying.

The girl's white jade pendant began to glow. "I bind thou by contract of the soul. Witness'd by the seven constellations; Tokaki, Tatara, Ekie, Subaru, Amefuri, Toroki, Kagasuki." The ground beneath her glowed a bright white with a circular symbol of something Batman couldn't quite decipher yet—he made sure to take a picture of it for further investigation. "I hereby hest you, the White Tiger of the Western Winds, to return to whence thou belong and serve in thy rightful place by my side. Become mine weapon and shield until my life is taken from me. Come to me, Byakko!"

The tiger roared out loud as large gust of wind became sucked into the pendant from the raging tiger. The wind grew stronger and Batman noticed that it looked as though the tiger was being sucked into the pendant. The symbols underneath the girl glowed brightly and he saw the look of pain in her eyes. He had to give the girl an applaud for withstanding the wind without being blown away.

Once the tiger completetly dissipated into the girl's pendant, the girl fell unconscious. He had to guess that the girl sealed the tiger within her pendant and such sealing methods took a lot of energy out of her. He almost debated to call in the League to discussed what just transpired, but decided that Gotham was still under his jurisdiction, so he would investigate and inform the League later.

He and Robin then brought her to the infirmary of the Batcave and waited until she awoke. She had explained to Batman in Japanese who she was and what she did. She was the High Priestess of the Celestial Heaven that dictated the Western Winds. It was during a ceremony that belligerents attacked Byakko's shrine and disrupted it. She was the one in charge to bring the Tiger under control. The jade pendant was just a medium in order to bind hers and Byakko's soul so that she may command it until she dies.

She thanked Batman and Robin for the help and mentioned that the Celestial Heavens do not like to meddle with their world. It was not of the Celestial Heaven to interfere and such an occurrence would likely occur once in a millennia. When the girl tried to return to the heavens by summoning the passageway she found out that she could not do such a thing. Upon further inspection she discovered that the doorway was closed on Heaven's end and that there was no guarantee of when she would return.

Batman let out a scoff as he remembered how Fuko started crying like the ten year old she should be and threw a tantrum about being locked out of her own home. Once the child calmed down he began with asking her what kind of ability she has and whether she would like to be his protégé. Robin had insisted that they could train together and it would be awful of them to just cast the girl away in a world she did not even fully know.

Fuko had managed to summon seven swords in varying shapes and sizes to act as her weapon and shield. She also showed how she could teleport from one sword to another. She had explained how she had the power of Byakko flowing through and in return she must host the Tiger. There were no adverse affect for her other the fact that she must live on the ideals of Byakko.

She agreed to help out Batman and Robin because it was within Byakko's ideal of being protector and virtue of righteousness. The determined look on her face made him nod in assent and he introduced her to the Manor and made a fake history for her to live by. He made sure to train her in combat and everything that Robin knew at that time. It only took her three months to be at the level of where Robin was and she mentioned that while she had no raw talent in combat, Byakko was aiding her in her sleep and thus she gained more knowledge than what was taught during the day.

Bruce had made sure that she could speak English well enough before sending her to explore the world outside the manor—she was a quick learner and it only took her three months to understand the language and speak it. He enrolled her to Gotham Academy and received words of praise on her excel at Cultural Studies and Languages. Fuko even made her debut as his protégé in the superhero business as Vega—"_I fell in love with the story of Orihime and Hikoboshi and it made sense because Byakko represented Autumn and in certain cultures the milky way was used as symbolism for autumn in poems,_" she had explained. After her first mission, the dynamics of Robin and Batman changed but with time it became easier to work with both Robin and Vega.

Bruce was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the door to the cave open. "Shouldn't you be at your party _hime_?" Bruce had grown fond of calling her that—to think it all started out because of the joke Robin said to her when she decided her alter ego name, it was something about her wanting to be a princess too.

"Party's over. You've been here for a few hours after you said hi to everyone."

It was strange to see her using her wig to conceal her white hair. The Fuko Shuhitou everyone knew had dark hair and eyes, her parents were illegal immigrants who died at when she was only five and Bruce Wayne adopted her at age ten when he saw her running in the alley. Fuko took her wig off and let out a sigh, "using a wig gets so hot."

Bruce ruffled the thirteen year old's hair—apparently she aged as a normal human would regardless which realm she was in. "Bruce are you going to cut the cake with me, Dick and Alfred?"

Bruce raised an eyebrow, "I thought you already did blow out the candles during the party?"

Bruce saw the young girl fidget and look up to him, "yeah, but I wanna have one where it's just us family."

Bruce nodded and told her to go upstairs while he changed out of his costume. Fuko jumped up to hug him and gave him a kiss on the cheek before running up the stairs with a big smile, she even made sure to throw a thank you daddy at him. Bruce wondered if the young girl even realised she said such a thing. It was strange to know that a _supposedly_ Celestial existence lives in his house and is domesticated to the concept of family. At times it was easy to live as Bruce and behave as a father to his two wards and at other times the Bat would take control of his mind and analyse the situation with Fuko and the possible outcomes if Heaven decides to interfere.

* * *

**End note: **I decided to base the main character off Japanese/Chinese culture because I love the Shishin mythos and where better to use than in a magical world like YJ where every shit you can think of exists. I mean, dudes, Gods exist, so does magic and flipping demi-gods from other planets. Seriously DC, you are awesum.

I like to think I researched a bit into it instead of pulling shit out of my ass and present it to you guys. To sum it up Byakko is regarded as one of the heavenly beasts that rules (?) the west and represents wind, white metal and fall (thus the OCs name as explained below). Fuko's Chrysanthemum kimono was to represent autumn and her high ranking status as the flower often symbolizes autumn and is the Royal Imperial Seal of Japan. The white jade pendant represents protection and is often used by high ranking commanders or royals and is often linked to worship of Byakko. Her white hair represents the colour that Byakko represent (pretty obvious) and I chose to use moon as a simile because autumn in Japanese poetry is often related to the moon.

The character's name is Fuko Shuhitou and her first name consist of the kanji wind (fu) and tiger (ko) and her last name consist of the kanji autumn (shu), princess (hi) and sword (tou). I chose these combination because spoilers. …or you can do your own research and put up a theory. If any of you see any mistake in my ability to put Kanji together please tell me. 風虎 秋妃刀 is how you would write it in Japanese.

So hope you like this.


	2. Chapter 2

It was chaos. The dance was stopped halfway before she could even finish sealing the Byakko within her. There were opposition against her being the one to seal Byakko and found her unsuitable to be the High Priestess. Fuko scoffed at such thoughts; only fools would go against the word of Byakko.

She watched as the retainers and monks around her ponder on how the problem must be dealt with. Because of the failed ritual, Byakko had descended to Earth and began creating chaos. It was not because the ritual failed that the Tiger turned to just a beast. Just like the teachings instilled upon her the moment she took up the mantle of future High Priestess; there was no malice in the Tiger's action, but more of an extension of his fierce nature.

She had enough of the bickering old coots and stood from her seat. "I will go and subject the White Tiger to control." The people surrounding her began to shout protests on her choice of actions. She raised her hand high up and commanded them to be silent. It was her duty as the successor Priestess to keep Byakko in balance with the realm and she saw it was necessary that the belief of balance within nature be kept.

"I will retrieve the White Tiger and return hither to conduct my duties as Priestess. Leave the room now and let me prepare." All the people within the room filed out and she was left in peace to calm her nerves. In order to seal the Tiger after a failed ritual; it would take a lot of determination because the pain would be too great to ignore.

She stood up and opened the closet that held the Priestess's ritual clothes. She admired the way the kimono shimmered and put it on her. She took out the black obi and tied it around her waist to hold together the kimono. She then walked towards the other side of the room and looked at the white jade pendant and fan display. The fan was essential to the ritual and it holds great power; it was a gift from Byakko.

She put on the necklace around her and took a deep breath. She held the fan in her hand and looked at it—she had never seen it up close. The fan was plain white with the exception of the guard that was decorated with carvings Byakko and yellow strings knotted intricately to hold a white jade ball at the pin of the fan. She tucked the fan safely in her obi and left the room.

Byakko was a supposed to be a part of her soul. She was not about to let some people who believed she was unsuitable to be High Priestess stop her. One of the monks stuttered that she should be careful on Earth. That it wasn't safe. The young girl just gave the monk a smile and walked through the silver door.

The Celestial Heaven was the place she knew of since she was just five. Anything before that was just a blur. She would return and become the medium for Byakko. She walked out of the door and heard it close behind her. The place she was in was dark and that darkness was suffocating. She heard a growl ahead of her and saw Byakko.

Calming her nerves she took out her fan and flicked it open. There was no need to fear Byakko. The Tiger was meant to be a part of her and it only reacted so hostilely because of the lingering darkness of the place she was in. "Byakko, thy actions art naught but destroying this city. I bid thou to return to me." Byakko gave her a growl.

She cleared her mind and summoned her energy to begin the sealing process. The pendant glowed and she felt her soul connect to it. "I bind thou by contract of the soul. Witness'd by the seven constellations; Tokaki, Tatara, Ekie, Subaru, Amefuri, Toroki, Kagasuki." She felt the energy from the seven constellation coursing around her and felt the warmth glow of power. "I hereby hest you, the White Tiger of the Western Winds, to return to whence thou belong and serve in thy rightful place by my side. Become mine weapon and shield until my life is taken from me. Come to me, Byakko!"

Byakko's soul entered the pendant and slowly merged with her. There was no mistake that the ritual was powerful and that the White Tiger's summoned element could blow her off her feet. She stood her ground and remembered that determination was needed to control the Tiger. She gritted her teeth in order to fight the pain of having her soul ripped apart and put together with Byakko's. The wind grew stronger the more their soul merged. She felt she was almost at wit's end when the pain subsided and the wind died down. She looked down at the pendant that gave her a low glow.

The sealing process took up a lot of energy and she felt the world around her begin to darken. Before she knew it she fell to the ground and closed her eyes. Her last thought was a voice telling her to rest.

* * *

"Shuhitou Fuko, open your eyes."

She awoke with a gasp and sat upright at the command. She looked around her and saw that she was in white room and with many strange mechanics she could not understand. She heard a beeping noise and saw a wall slide open to let in a man in a bat-suit with a boy in a strange red, green and yellow costume.

Fuko began asking them where she was and they replied with a language she did not understand. She was about to run when the man who looked like a bat began speaking her language. Though some of it was unintelligible she understood the gist of it: she was in a city called Gotham and was placed in the room when she fainted after what she did to the Tiger.

The man began asking her who she was and what she was doing in such a place. She in turn explained that she is Fuko Shuhitou, High Priestess of the Western Celestial Palace. Her goal was to seal Byakko within her to stop his rampage after an earlier failed ritual due to rebels.

"And the pendant?"

"It is just a medium for merging my soul with the Tiger. Enough of that however, I must return to the Celestial Palace. We do not like to meddle with affairs of the Earth." She summoned power from inside her and the door leading back to her home appeared. She turned to look at the people in the room and bowed in gratitude. It would be good to return to her home.

She pushed the door and it did not budge open. Fuko looked puzzlingly at the door and tried once more to open it to no avail. She took out her fan and flipped it open; she felt the energy surrounding the door and noticed that it was locked from the inside. That would mean that she could not return until the door was unlocked.

Fuko was shocked at the idea of never returning to the Celestial Palace. It was all she had ever known and what she thought would only know. The Palace was her place to feel connected to nature itself. Her determination broke at the idea of being locked out of her own home. Her lips trembled and she began to cry.

She felt the man-bat ask her what was wrong. She let out a sob and cried how she won't be able to return home and was stuck in Earth. The young boy began trying to calm her down in that language she did not know and it only made her cry harder. She was now stuck in a foreign world because of her arrogant action.

After about of five minutes of sobbing and crying over heaven being fools for locking her out, she heard a voice telling her to calm down. She had a feeling that it was Byakko trying to soothe her soul. The radiating calmness from within her slowed down her crying and she began to take deep slow breaths. She felt a large and warm hand ruffling her hair. She looked up at the man-bat and stopped her sniffling.

Fuko calmed down considerably and rubbed away the tears. Now was not the time to be crying. It was time to decide on her next course of action. She could stay on Earth and wait until the door to the Celestial Heaven opened. The man-bat asked her if she had any abilities at all. Fuko knew that she could summon the Seven Great swords at will and that being one with Byakko allows her to move with the wind.

She showed the two people just that. Fuko summoned her swords and felt the seven of them surround her in protection. She took one in her hand and threw the sword as far as possible and it landed into a wall. As if it was second nature to her she closed her eyes and felt the power coursing through her as she moved from her previous spot to land on top of the sword to face the two people.

There were more to Byakko's ability than just that, but she did not have the time to learn them before her predecessor passed and she had to take the mantle of High Priestess. The man-bat seemed impressed and afterwards went to discuss something with the young boy. She stood atop the sword and waited for them to finish talking.

The man-bat then turned to her and asked if she would like to stay in his household and help him with his work to keep peace in his city. Fuko accepted in a heartbeat; being stuck in an unknown world would be troublesome if she has to figure everything on her own. Besides, Byakko's principles were that of virtue of righteousness and what better way than to keep peace.

The man-bat took off his mask and so did the boy beside him and introduced themselves as Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson respectively. Fuko bowed her head in acknowledgment and asked how things work in this world. The next few hours was then used to explain the workings of Earth and discuss the differences with the Celestial Heavens. Bruce told her that she would be under his tutelage to learn the 'English Language' and once she mastered the language she would be free to explore the world. At the same time training would be done to prepare her against the villains of Earth.

* * *

It took her roughly three months to master the language and by that time Bruce had prepared a history for her. She is Fuko Shuhitou, ward of Bruce Wayne who was orphaned at the age of ten. Her parents were illegal immigrants and seeing the small girl lurking in the dark alley compelled the billionaire philanthropist to take her under his wing like he did for Dick.

After learning the language she was then home-schooled to understand the Earth and everything about it. Fuko wanted to protest about how there may be no point because the door to the Heavens may open before school even starts, but Bruce insisted and so she listened. Anytime she didn't understand anything she would go to Dick and ask for help; the boy was good at maths and she wasn't.

Between home school and Batman's patrol, he taught Fuko how to find various martial arts from Earth. She in turn taught him some basic fighting skills she knew form the Celestial Heavens. During her sleep, Byakko would come to her and spar with her to improve her fighting skills. Those were the only times the Tiger talked to her; he was eerily silent for anything else.

Fuko rarely had time to go out to see Gotham because she was too busy studying and learning, but there were times that she had to show face at certain events that Bruce held. Those ceremonies were boring and a droll; Dick often elevated the boredom by making them play games. Her favourite times outside was when they went to see rides and carnivals that popped around the city. Sometimes Bruce couldn't go because he was too busy with work but Dick accompanied her and she was happy enough with that.

Over the time there she felt happy being with Bruce, Dick and Alfred. Sometimes she often thought that she was just a normal Earth girl. There was just something about Earth that called to her soul. Though sometimes Dick would tease and call her an old soul when she began to talk of the Celestial Palace and her views on the world.

It was during summer that Bruce decided she was ready enough to begin patrol with him and Dick. She begged Bruce that she didn't want a cape and that would only get in the way. Bruce gave her a lovely yellow scarf to use instead of a cape and her costume consists of a tight fitting black crew neck top, black tight fitting pants, dark red combat boots, dark red gloves and a yellow utility belt. Her mask was a black and on her chest was a yellow eight-petal flower.

"_Decided on your name yet?" Bruce asked her._

_Fuko nodded and smiled, "yup! Vega. During autumn you can see the star shining brightly. Orihime's name is also Vega and I love her story."_

_Dick chuckled at her, "just admit you chose that name cause you secretly want to be a princess."_

_Fuko punched Dick on the shoulder not so lightly, "Stop being a Richard."_

_Dick only winced in pain for a bit before continuing his chuckling._

She was so excited for her first night of patrol that Bruce had to constantly remind her of her duty and that one mistake could cost everything. By the time she fought her first bad guys she used a combination of what Bruce taught her and what Byakko did. She managed to take down four men on her own. Dick said that he was impressed and she couldn't help but smile widely at the comment.

Bruce said that school would be good for her because then she could find a hobby she could do. Something other than crime fighting that she could enjoy. She didn't know what could be better than fighting though. Every time she fought her blood boiled and she gets an adrenaline rush; it was as though all her pent up energy was put to good use.

"Miss Fuko, it's time to wake up now. I've given you your five minutes, any longer and I'll be forced to make Master Dick wake you up."

Fuko rolled in her sleep and sluggishly sat up. She yawned and then grumbled, "I got it. I'm getting ready." Dick waking her up means shoving her out of her bed and stealing her blanket away.

She saw Alfred nod and say that today's breakfast was pancake. At the mention of her favourite food on Earth she quickly got off the bed and went to the en-suite bathroom to have her shower. By the time she got out of the shower, her school clothes were neatly folded onto her made up bed along with a brown wig she was to wear outside. She dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen to eat her breakfast.

She saw Dick sitting on the kitchen counter already starting to eat breakfast. "Morning," she said happily to Dick and Alfred. "Where's Bruce?"

"In the cave. Going over some notes before he leaves."

Alfred reprimanded Dick for talking while his mouth was full of food.

Fuko began eating her food and felt a fluttering feeling in her stomach. She was excited for her first day of school. Bruce had enrolled her in the Gotham Academy and she was told that she would be starting the last year of elementary school before heading to Junior Highschool. Bruce tried to pair up most of her lessons with Dick, but she opted out on taking economics and instead took up cultural studies.

Fuko saw Dick finish his food and turned to look at her, "excited for your first day?"

"You kidding? I so totally am! Wonder if I'll make any friends. Also you think classes would be hard? I don't think I'd do very well in Science and Math."

Dick just shrugged. "Hey if you ever got a problem you can ask for help from big brother Dick."

She pouted at him. It always annoyed her when he brings up the big brother thing. "You're only a month older than me. Don't get too ahead of yourself. Bet you I can wipe the floor with you."

Dick laughed and accepted her challenge; "it is so on when we get back."

Fuko saw Bruce enter the kitchen and waved at him. "Excited for school?" he asked her.

Fuko nodded at him and ate a mouthful of pancake. Once breakfast was finished all four of them head out to the limo. She and Dick were going to be dropped off first and then Bruce would get to work. It always amazed her what an amazing city Gotham is—even with the pressuring darkness that lingers around.

The city centre was filled with tall building and elevated train tracks while roads and subway stations surrounded the more suburban area. Fuko couldn't stop bouncing on her chair and Bruce needed to tell her to calm down a few times. "But Bruce! It's going to be my first time spending time with other kids my age."

"Hey! What about me? I'm your age!" Dick told her.

Fuko turned around to look at Dick and smirked, "what happened to being an older brother?"

Dick poked her shoulder and a game of trying to out poke each other began. Fuko felt the car come to a stop and flicked her finger against Dick's forehead and jumped out of the car. "Bye Bruce," she then pulled Dick's hand, "come on, you said you'd show me around."

She saw the car leave and waved away before turning to face Dick. "You going to show me around or not?" she asked him.

"Maybe is you drop the im- from impatient, you'll get what you want."

Fuko rolled her eyes, "I can't believe your weird habit stayed even after I managed to learn English just fine."

Dick shrugged her shoulders at her, "hey, it worked all those times right?"

She grudgingly agreed and Dick began to show her around the school. Some people stopped by to talk to Dick and were introduced to Fuko. Apparently all those kids were from one of his classes or another. "Aren't you just a social butterfly?"

Dick smirked at her, "what can I say, I'm just that charismatic."

Fuko punched his shoulder lightly for the sass. They then finished the tour around the school and Fuko waved him goodbye to head off to her first class; cultural studies. The teacher was a bit boring and droll, but the subject was interesting enough that it didn't bother her too much. She sat next to a girl with blonde hair and green eyes and introduced herself as Leona Wallace. The girl seemed friendly enough that she said who she was.

"Oh! You're Bruce Wayne's ward!"

Fuko nodded and Leona asked what it was like to live with the billionaire.

"Well, I guess we're as normal of a family we can get." _With nightly excursions of patrolling Gotham and saving the world on occasion, _she added mentally.

"Yeah, but I bet you get spoilt rotten! Anything you want he'll buy!"

Fuko thought on the statement. She didn't know about being spoilt rotten but because of her good behaviour lately and after weeks of begging, Bruce finally relented to let her learn how to drive a motorcycle. "I guess."

"Man, it must so nice to be you. To get everything that you want."

Fuko only nodded. She never understood the concept of _just_ getting what she wanted. If she wanted something she needed to work for it. The same thing happened in the Celestial Palace and so did it happen with Bruce. Her favourite presents from him were new items to add to the utility belt.

The bell rang and Leona asked Fuko if she wanted to switch numbers so they can contact each other. Fuko nodded and told Leona to tell her phone number. Technology was something she needed to get used to. The Celestial Palace didn't have any mobile phones, computer or other devices for her use. Even to this point, she couldn't hack a single thing and those jobs were left to Batman and Robin—at least she can still manage to use the Internet.

Leona and Fuko parted ways. Fuko had Math next and she was glad that it was in the same class as Dick's. She saw Dick standing next to a red headed girl and assumed it was the Barbara Gordon he often talked about. Fuko smiled at Dick and the girl next to him. She introduced herself as Fuko and the girl replied that she was Barbara Gordon.

"Dick told me loads about you."

Barbara raised her eyebrows and looked at Dick, "what did he mention about me?"

"Just how if I ever came to school, you would be a great friend."

Barbara smiled, "flattered."

Dick sighed and told the two to get to class already. "So how was your first lesson?" Dick asked Fuko.

"Met a girl named Leona. She thinks I get spoiled rotten by Bruce and that I can get anything I want."

Dick laughed. "Yeah right, the day Bruce sells Wayne Enterprise is when I believe that."

"Well, I guess that means he's a good person to be taking care of you then. You won't turn into a selfish brat that way," Barbara said.

Fuko nodded in agreement. Dick however decided it was the best moment to tease her, "yeah right. You should see the way she hogs all the pancakes to herself during breakfast."

Fuko punched Dick's arm and mumbled, "says the guy who ate over half of today's breakfast."

Barbara laughed and told Fuko, "this will be the start of a great friendship."

Fuko couldn't disagree more.

xxx

Endnote: Thanks for the review Guest, I'm glad you like the fact that I research my shit. Also, I agree with you; chapter one does feels rushed. However, this is will eventually end up as a DickxOC story no matter how cliché of a pairing people may think of it.

Also to the anon who left me those long ass three review that looked like you copy pasted off a message board, I haven't a clue what you're on about. As much as I love DC, I do not have in depth knowledge of it (I only watch the DC Animations and own a few Teen Titans comics). So, sorry I can't reply or understand what you're on about.

Hope this chapter was entertaining. It is more of a character background for Fuko. Symbolism in this chapter is Fuko's outfit. The yellow represents her high status; black represents the colour of heaven (as based from the Book of Changes—I Ching); and red represents her crime fighting because in Japanese Buddhism and Shintoism it is often related to banishing evil spirits.


	3. Chapter 3

"Boy Wonder to The Bat and Bright Star. There's a robbery in progress downtown. Thirteen suspects all armed. Sending out coordinates."

Vega couldn't help but roll her eyes at the moniker the people of Gotham gave her. "Seriously, why do people call me Bright Star?"

"Because you are Vega, a star." Vega hadn't even realised she said her thought out loud.

It was just in her nature not to let Robin have the last say in anything, "Vega's not even the brightest star. Makes me wonder how bright people really are."

"Your puns are awful, Vega."

"This is coming from the guy who likes to drop prefixes to make a point."

Batman's voice then cut off Robin's comeback, "knock it off you two. Focus on the job."

Vega couldn't help but smirk when she was the one who got the last word in. She could imagine Robin fuming at having lost the lead for the night. It was natural for them to have some banter during patrol—especially during stakeouts—and to keep score. Whoever wins would buy the other some snacks.

Vega looked at the coordinates Robin sent her on her holographic computer she took out her grappling hook from her back pocket and made her way to the coordinates. She could've just used her swords to move, but figured her arms would get too tired from throwing the swords constantly and having to teleport to one another.

It's been about a year since she started her crime fighting activity. Each patrol was enjoyable in the companion of Robin and Batman—more so Robin. There were moments when she would want to cry from the sheer boredom but the intensive training Batman put her through made her focus at will. Besides, Robin was always there to make the boring parts of patrol fun. There was a period of time where patrol was tense between Robin and Batman because of the Kid Flash incident—Robin told his secret identity to Kid Flash.

There were a few occasions where she met the Flash and his infamous protege, the two talked so fast that she could barely keep up. She also heard that Aquaman just recently took up a sidekick. Her least favourite sidekick so far was Speedy, mainly because he was stubborn and ambitious—something that Dick pointed out was similar to her own personality. Still when time called for it they can at least sort out their differences and work together.

Vega landed on the roof next to Robin. "Where's Bat—." Her question was cut short when the man himself landed next to her. Vega looked at the people down shouting and saw a small girl being held hostage. Vega saw red; how dare they use a small girl as a captive. Seeing the small girl crying and begging to be let go struck something inside her.

Vega aimed her sword at the man and threw it at him. "Vega we nee—," Robin started to say. She was too far gone to pay attention to any of it. Her sword sliced through the man's upper arm and to make sure the shot didn't harm the girl she threw another sword between the gap of the pistol and the girl's head. She then teleported to her second sword and delivered a kick to the head on the thug.

With the man holding hostage down she looked at the rest of the robbers. They all began shooting at her and she just summoned her Seven Swords to create a wall of defense. She's never felt so much rage against people before. Seeing the helpless girl made her mind try to remind her of something important; something close to home.

The wind surrounding her picked up and she never felt so much power course through her. She ran towards one of the men and kicked him in the stomach before using him to jump to another man and deliver an axe kick. The shooting at her continued and three of the men decided that fighting her wasn't worth it and ran into the alley—she'd leave those three to be dealt with by Batman and Robin.

Seeing seven more people left she threw all her seven swords in succession at each one. Each sword landed on each of their feet and teleported to each one and delivered an upper cut punch; reverse hook kick; axe kick and repeated the pattern for the rest of the men. Her swords disappeared as the men fell unconscious and her wind died down. Her breathing was laboured not because she was tired, but instead because she felt anger and overwhelming sadness inside her.

She felt someone's arm wrapped around her waist and saw the little girl hugging her. "Thank you, Vega," she said and smiled brilliantly at Vega. Vega ruffled the little girl's hair and told her she had to go. She took out her grappling hook and headed up to the roof she came from.

"You were rash." Vega looked at Batman and was about to explain herself when she felt her head throb. The wind around her picked up again and she fell onto her knees. She grabbed her head hoping that it would stop the pounding her brain was receiving.

"_Someone like you should just disappear."_

She felt Batman's hand on her shoulders and her headache decreased somewhat. Vega began to take deep breaths to calm down but instead her eyes hurt instead as she saw flashes of images in her mind; a dirt road, a group of boys and her crying and begging. When she couldn't take the pain anymore she fainted.

* * *

Fuko woke up with a groan; her head felt as if a lead pipe hit it and her ears were ringing. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and blinked to clear her vision. Everything in the room was hazy and she couldn't tell whether there was only one Bruce or two. She closed her eyes tightly and massaged her temples; hoping that it would reduce the fogginess of everything.

"What happened?"

Her ears stopped ringing but Bruce sounded muffled, "you went on a rampage and then fainted afterwards. We need to talk about it."

Fuko fell back to the bed and sighed when her headache slowly dissipated. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked into worried blue eyes of Dick. "You okay? Can you sit up?"

"Yeah, I think." Fuko slowly sat up and looked at Bruce. She rubbed the back of her head to feel if she was hit before she went on to stop the robbery. No bumps or anything; just her going ballistic. "I think seeing that small girl being held hostage snapped something in me. Like it's connected to my past."

"Yeah, but from what you tell us, you had a pretty nice life."

Fuko shook her head. "I can't really remember anything before I was taken to the temple. Before I was six it's just…blank. The girl being held hostage sorta triggered something in me and I think bits of my memories is coming back."

Bruce put his hands on her shoulders, "what did you remember?"

Pain blossomed in her chest as she tried to piece together the flashes of images that ran through her mind before she fainted. She remembered hearing a voice telling her to disappear and she assumed it was part of her memories. She felt tears in her eyes, "people wanted me dead Bruce. They wanted a six year old dead."

She felt his arms grip tightly around her shoulders and then Bruce pulled her close. A dam broke in her and she hugged him tightly. Bits and pieces of her past memories returned and she wished they wouldn't. It wasn't something anyone should remember.

She felt Bruce pick her up and carry her out of the Cave. She heard Dick's light footsteps follow behind them. She began hiccupping and hug Bruce tighter. "It's cause of my hair. They thought I was a demon and shunned me all the while telling me to just disappear." It was cruel and unfair to her. She was just a child.

She felt Bruce lay her on her bed and began to softly stroke her hair. "Deep breaths." She followed Bruce's advice and took deep breaths. The pain in her chest subsided and she went on breathing normally. Bruce got up and told her to rest while he finishes patrol. Fuko only nodded and then looked at Dick who was in his Robin attire sans mask.

"You gave me a scare there Fuko." Fuko sat on her bed and clasped her hand between his. "Wanna tell me all about it?"

Fuko closed her eyes and nodded. She came to trust Dick after all; he is her best friend. "I think the reason why I snapped when I saw the girl was cause she reminded me of…me. I don't remember much of my past, but that small girl reminded me of the time was held against my will and beaten up. I didn't want the girl to end up like me."

Dick's grip tightened around her hand. "You know that sort of thing will never happen to you. Besides we fight crime to stop those things. I mean there is a possibility you might be captured and beaten up for info—ah crap I didn't mean to bring bad memories. Ugh of all—."

"It's okay Dick. I can handle a bit of torture for info. I don't think I can handle it if they did that just because of the way I look."

"Yeah, well whoever did that to you just cause of your hair must live in some backtrack country. Nowadays people would kill to have your hair colour and pull it off. Don't worry too much about it."

Fuko smiled at him. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up Wonder Boy."

"No problem Bright Star."

Fuko indulgently rolled her eyes at him. "Hold my hand till I sleep?"

Dick nodded at her and she closed her eyes. Soon enough the warmth radiating from Dick's hand made her sleep in peace.

* * *

Dick went back down to the cave once Fuko was asleep in peace. He saw Bruce sitting on the chair and his hands typing away on the computer. He stood next to the Batman and looked at the data on the computer. "Eastern mythology?"

Without taking his eyes away from the screen Bruce replied, "it seems the closest thing we could connect Fuko to."

Dick looked down on the floor and frowned. He thought back to the moment Fuko entered the fray; her eyes shone a brilliant blue and she could have sworn she saw stripes appearing on her face. She looked manic and so full of rage that he actually felt scared _of_ her. That was something he never thought he would associate with her—ever.

"What are we going to do?"

"Train her to focus harder. We can't let her lose control again."

Dick gritted his teeth. It would be easier if they could just find out where she was from and get answers from there, but they came up with nothing. Bruce even went as far as looking through the Green Lantern Corps database for Fuko. Their search came up empty and Fuko was still a mystery; something that Dick knew Bruce did not like—no matter how much affection has grown on the Bat.

* * *

Fuko woke up the next morning refreshed and better than before. It was a Sunday so she wasn't worried about school but she knew that Bruce would probably want to train her some more. She showered then dressed in some workout capris and white crop tank top and tied her hair up.

She went down to the kitchen to grab an energy bar and drink a glass of water. Fuko saw Dick already up and eating a bowl of cereal. She guessed he just finished his morning work out and was starting breakfast before relaxing for a bit and then going back to practicing.

"Fuko, good luck with the Bats."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "He's going to work you to hell for yesterday," he answered. She groaned and quickly drank down her water. She figured she may as well get this done and over with. Fuko nodded her thanks and went to the cave through the grandfather's clock.

Fuko saw Bruce sitting on the chair by the monitor while typing away. She shuffled her feet and felt a bit surprised that Bruce wasn't there waiting with some heavy training for her cock up yesterday. "Fuko, we need to talk. Come here."

She followed Bruce's command and stood next to his chair. Bruce began typing and a video feed showed up of the robbery that happened the night before. She watched quietly as Bruce's eye lenses focused on the whole incident. She didn't think that she would look crazed while she fought those thugs. Her movements were something she wouldn't come up with given any rational thought. It was too reckless and if the opponents were cleverer that small girl would have ended up dead.

"What was going through your head when you went after them?"

Fuko looked on the floor and recalled her foggy memory, "I told you, seeing tha—."

"I didn't ask why you snapped. I asked what you were think in that moment in time when you threw that sword."

Fuko bit her bottom lip. She knew exactly what she was thinking when she went after those men. There was so much rage inside her when it happened that she knew exactly what would've have happened if she didn't have a semblance of self control. "I wanted them dead. I wanted them to suffer," she admitted, "I was just so angry. Then for some reason there was so much hatred in me that if you or Robin didn't cross my mind at some point, someone could have end up dead."

"In that case you'll be back to training and taken off patrol until we can get self control instilled into you. Training will be harder and you'll be pushed to the limit. So I suggest you decide whether you want to continue to work as Vega or not."

Fuko looked at Bruce, "if I get better, will I be able to go patrol with you?"

Bruce nodded.

"What if I decide that I'm too scared to be Vega again? After seeing that video…I'm scared of what I can be Bruce."

Bruce stood up from his seat and went to pick up Fuko. It was easy to carry her and she immediately reacted by hugging him tightly. "I'm not going to force you into anything Fuko. However, if you're that scared, that's what I'm here for. I'll be there to hold your hand and I'm sure Dick would love nothing more than to help you. So don't be afraid when you have all these resources around you."

Fuko nodded and kissed Bruce's cheek. "I'll train. I'm not one for running away from my responsibilities anyway."

Bruce smirked at her, "training may make you want to quit. You sure you're up for it?"

Fuko nodded with determinate eyes. She was Fuko Shuhitou, High Priestess to Byakko and she'd be damned if something as uncontrollable temper stop her from doing what's right.

* * *

Training with Bruce was harder than before she took the mantle as Vega. Her days consisted of nothing but training. When Bruce and Dick weren't on patrol, they'd fight her and test her limit. She lost control of herself a few times, but Bruce simply snapped her out of it by telling her to breathe. When Bruce and Dick were away, she would meditate and then practice her escape skills—she needed more practice on lock picking.

When school started up again, it became tiring for her. She balanced school life with training. She started Junior High School by joining the debate club and the chess club. Dick considered joining her but ended up going for the math club.

Going to school was becoming easier for her; Barbara was a great friend though she didn't run in the same social circle as her and Dick. Their different social circle was thanks to the fact that Dick and Barbara were considered too smart to be in the grade they were in and were advanced to the 8th grade instead of 7th. She does feel lonely without Dick and her being in the same classes, but was not all that bothered by it—she was too busy training anyway.

After being on Earth for almost two years, she noticed that Byakko slowly stopped talking to her. She wondered whether it was because she was too busy or Byakko resented her for not trying harder to return the Heavens. The meditation cleared her mind and at the first few time she felt Byakko's soul thrumming with hers and their connection slowly grew to the point that Byakko began appearing before her. Sometimes he would appear as the White Tiger and others as a man with white hair and blue eyes.

Fuko tried many times to ask about her past before the Palace—it seemed the logical choice since Byakko chooses his Priestesses. However the Tiger was oddly taciturn about anything regarding her past. Still Fuko couldn't be all that disheartened since Byakko began to teach her how to stop her swords mid air and making them float so that she can teleport to a precise spot.

When she told Dick about the process, he asked whether she could use it as a hoverboard and then she proceeded to ask Byakko the very same question. The tiger was confused about the concept at first, but he mentioned that such a thing was possible. "The Seven Swords are a way to channel my powers. If you were in the Celestial Heavens it would be possible to do much more; you are able to bring about hurricanes that destroy or winds that bring prosperity," he had told her.

Fuko relayed the message to Bruce and she could tell that he was relieved because most of her abilities are unusable on Earth, but she also knew he was preparing in an event when she does go rogue. After months of weeks of training and meditation Bruce agreed to let her go on a patrol. She managed to keep her cool when faced with the same predicament she was faced with before she temporarily stopped being Vega.

Without realising it Dick's thirteenth birthday came around and she managed to give the Boy Wonder a decorative katana set she made Bruce import from a mission in Japan. He was so impressed by the craftsmanship that it was displayed proudly in his room above his television. The day after a small party, Bruce announced that she would be returning to patrol as Vega. Fuko was so excited that it was like being on her first patrol all over again.

Throughout the night Dick told her to calm down and Bruce constantly reminded her to think of the mission at hand. After a rather peaceful night of patrol she went to bed happy and content.

* * *

End note: I know, lame end to a lame chapter, but hey at least the ball sorta starts rolling next chapter. Yeaaaaaa, I know KF, Aqualad and Speedy are only briefly mentioned. But it's cause I got plans. Big plans that may or may not fall through.

No symbolism this chapter. However, if you guys are confused about timelines... then Fuko arrived at 11 January 2008 (she was 11 and that's her birthday btw). Summer 2008 she started out as Vega followed by school on September. On summer 2009, she had the incident happen in this chapter. She started as Vega after Dick's birthday on 1st December 2009. And the first chapter of this story happens on 11 January 2010.

I'll add like date stamps after this chapter. Either way, yeah, thanks for reading. Also thank you **PainInSilence** for loving this, I'm glad you do! 3 Reviews? Please? No? Oh...


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